#twelverose

Top is from September 12. Bottom is from now (December 18th).

I’ve been reading some twelverose and had to think back on a scene, at the very beginning of season 10, when he was guarding the vault at that university. You know the one where the camera pans across his office desk and we see a photo of Susan and River?

I remember how people made edits of Rose‘s photo on his desk and all, and while it did annoy me (and others) that Rose – arguably a very important person to the Doctor, considering the positive impact on him, post-Time War – was missing, back then, I think now, I see her absence differently.

Rose‘s presence post-Doomsday/Tentoo is most felt with her absence. The Doctor (from 11 onwards) doesn’t talk about her and we get less references[1] but, perhaps inadvertently, the absence of a mention or reference becomes the reference itself.

The Doctor carries his deepest grief and feelings within himself. He almost never mentions, displays or shows any reminders because it a) the reminders hurt and b) it feels way too vulnerable to have people see he has experienced loss and pain. That he cares and that it breaks his hearts.

So, I think the specific absence of Rose has more to do with the fact that the Doctor carries her reminder (her presence) everywhere he goes. He doesn’t need a physical object (though it happens on occasion)[2] because Rose had such an impact on him that, in the quiet moments, whenever he sees or hears something that reminds him of her, he pauses for a moment; he remembers and then he tucks it away again. It’s quiet, it’s reflective and it’s private.

Linda Nochlin[3] once said the absence in a painting is as much or even more revealing than the presence of people or objects.

"[…] we are haunted by certain absences in the painting. […] once we become aware of them, they begin to function as presences, in fact, as signs of a certain kind of conceptual deprivation." (Nochlin, The Imaginary Orient, 1983, p.35.)

It’s only when you look at what’s missing you’re able to see the bigger picture. Applying this to the absence of Rose while highlighting the presence of others (here River and Susan) it becomes clear that – bearing in mind the Doctor as the private/closed off person he is – she’s as present as ever.

- 🦆

(Yes, I love rose, sue me lol. It goes without saying that the presence of absence can be applied to other companions but it just hits different with rose u know?)

Further notes:

[1] Which isn’t to say none: Like Eleven’s mention about being her tutor, once, the glass rose and the rose doll, Kazran’s question about one last day with one’s beloved, oh and of course the TARDIS voice interface. And with Twelve it’s the yellow roses in his pilot ep and the mention of wanting to share a (long) life with another person in that ep with Lady Me – "That happens, I believe".

[2] Have you noticed that Rose’s references are almost never an image of herself or a direct verbal mention? It’s rather visual or verbal associations/implications, so like either somebody says something or a situation arises that parallels the Doctor and Rose‘s experiences or we have representative objects (glass rose, doll, actual roses) that clue us in.

Sorry to go radio silent, but this is my first fic marathon as a COLLEGE GRADUATE!! Which means we can move the fic marathon back to September!

The Fic Marathon has returned to its original dates of September 1st through 30th which is why I am posting these so late into July. And now has been shortened back to 30 prompts. Before we get started I (@bigbad-tardis) wanted to reintroduce the fic marathon to anyone new to the event or to the fandom.

While the DoctorRose Fic Marathon may seem like a daunting task, that is not its purpose. While there are 30 prompts provided for the event, they are not necessary to follow and you don’t have to write for all 30 days. The point of the fic marathon is just to get people excited to write fics for the Doctor and Rose! In this way I aspire for the event to be beginner friendly! Write whatever you want! It can be any pairing of the Doctor and Rose, not limited to Doctors we saw Rose with on screen! There is also no limit to rating. Just label appropriately.

While the event is hosted on AO3, if you chose to write on fanfic.net or tumblr only this blog will still reblog your posts! The point is write! write! write!

Now onto the rules!

1. If you’re going to connect the stories, connect them via series instead of a single fic.

2. There is no set length or rating. Write however long or short you want your fic to be. All you can write is plenty.

3. Tag your fics with DoctorRose Fic Marathon on AO3! I’m done with trying to separate them by years. It’s easier this way.

4. Make sure to have fun!

Now onto the best part, the prompts!

The 2025 Prompts!

1. Dedication

One thing the Doctor and Rose show to each other is dedication, if not for their dedication, Rose wouldn’t have made it back.

2. Unconventional Reunion

We have the typical reunion, dimension hopping, TARDIS fixing, and the like, this prompt challenges the writer to be a little different in their approach. How is up to you.

3. On the Run

We see the Doctor and Rose run quite a bit, but we never see them on the run for a longer period of time than a night. What would happen if they did?

4. Confrontation

The Doctor and Rose always talk about their feelings, whether it be romantic or their genuine emotional states. What if that came to a head? Or the Doctor or Rose have to confront someone else? Lots to pull from.

5. Soulmates

This could be a good old fashioned soulmate au or anything in between. Some even say we make our own soulmates.

6. “You burn like the Sun”

You can explore the quote from Tooth and Claw or use it to your own ends.

7. Fake Dating

You know it, you love it (or hate it), let’s see the Doctor and Rose deal with their very real feelings while being in a very fake relationship.

8. Dreams

Explore the Doctor and Rose’s dreams whether they share them or not, and how that changes their relationship.

9. Caught in a Storm

What if the Doctor and Rose were forced to hunker down in a different location due to unforeseen weather conditions. Or stuck in the TARDIS because of an ion storm.

10. One Bed

THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED!

11. Classic

This could be a Classic Who reference, or it could be a reference to classic beauty, but Doctor and Rose will always be classic.

12. Bad Wolf as Disability

What if Bad Wolf left more of an impact on Rose than we saw or thought.

13. Episode Fix-It

Pick an episode you thought did the Doctor and Rose wrong and fix it! Whether that be Journey’s End, Girl in the Fireplace, Doomsday, or an episode of your choice.

14. Supernatural

Vampires, werewolves, mermaids, and fairies we love supernatural creatures here. And I think the Doctor and Rose should’ve ran into more than just the werewolf.

15. Memory

The Doctor and Rose’s memories are important to the facets of who they are, and with the Doctor’s long life they’ve been haunted for quite a while.

16. Guests of Honor

Whether that be a dinner, a banquet, or a ball, what if the Doctor and Rose were the guests of honor at an event?

17. The Stuff of Legend

The Tenth Doctor himself called them the stuff of legend, how did they become this way? How does that change the future and their legacies.

18. The Sword in the Stone

Excalibur was explored once in the Classic serial battlefield, but what if it happened again? Whether in a future planet or Arthurian nerds, a Merlin crossover, or actually going back in time and meeting King Arthur. The opportunities are endless.

19. Multiple Doctors

The CLASSIC TROPE of multiple Doctors in one fic, one of theeee tropes of all time, I have to include it nearly every time.

20. Canon Divergence

What if the plot diverged at certain point.

21. University

Whether the Doctor is a professor, Rose is a student, they meet in the same year, just set the fic in university or at a university.

22. Coffee Shop

This could be an AU, or the Doctor and Rose even just trying to order a drink in between alien invasions. Or a barista watching the Doctor and Rose fall in love through coffee.

23. Literature AU

I try to make most of the prompts canon adjacent, but this one is really meant to be an AU, pick between a piece of literature you like and put the Doctor and Rose in that situation.

24. Celebration

What if the Doctor and Rose were at a party? Or had something new to celebrate. This one is more simple but a bit more lowkey than Guests of Honor

25. Dimension Hopping

Just because traditional reunion fic isn’t on the prompts, doesn’t mean we can’t explore dimension hopping Rose and even what would happen if the Doctor saw her?

26. Messages

Texting, writing in chalk, emails, telepathy, explore the ways the Doctor and Rose communicate with each other.

27. Declaration(s) of Love

One of my favorite tropes and is it back again. We never got to see them say I love you properly.

28. “I would do anything for you”

Who would say this, and why?

29. Alien Cultural Differences

They meet a lot of aliens in their travels, but the Doctor is also an alien, explore the differences between Rose and the people she meets and knows and how that changes her and the Doctor’s relationship.

30. Devotion

This ties back to our first prompt, the Doctor and Rose show utter devotion to each other. We see it over and over again, show us.

And that’s our prompts for 2025! See you soon

P.S. a bonus prompt for whoever wants to write it and misses the 31 days

- Rescue